Column: Good job county administrators

High school football still isn’t as big around here as I’d like it to be, but the administrations at Kinston and South Lenoir high schools are doing their part to see that it succeeds.

Both have had to replace their head football coaches this semester, and each made a hire that addresses one major issue facing each program.

South Lenoir named former Greene Central coach Ken Grantham its new coach in February, and on Monday Ryan Gieselman was promoted from an assistant to the head man at Kinston.

In the case of Gieselman, he brings a sense of continuity to a program that has struggled in that department. Although its 52 wins since the start of the 2008 season is the best stretch in school history, it took two coaches across five years to do it.

Gieselman is Kinston’s seventh hired or promoted football coach in the last 11 years, going back to Lonnie Baker’s two-year tenure that began in 2003.

Folks, it doesn’t take a genius to see that seven coaches in 11 seasons is a problem. The good thing about Gielselman is, while his name is different from his previous two predecessors, he’s cut from the exact same cloth, which means things should continue to go in the direction they have been since Battle Holley took a team that had won a total of six games in three seasons to one that won 10 games in 2008.

And that’s what Kinston sorely needs.

“He loves it here, loves the kids and loves the community,” Tyndall said. “He’s shown those things in an assistant role and he’s very deserving of becoming a head football coach.”

Ironically enough, the same problem has plagued South Lenoir.

While Kinston will unveil its seventh coach in a little more than a decade when the season opens on Aug. 23, the Blue Devils will have their sixth different leader roaming the sidelines during the same time frame.

Grantham, whom Greene Central let go following last season, had planned on living out the rest of his teaching and coaching days in Greene County. He now plans to do the same in Lenoir County — and when he says it you can believe it.

Grantham isn’t going to make the Blue Devils state title contenders — or even Eastern Carolina 2A Conference contenders — but he will make them a hard-working team and will give his all to see that it succeeds in the best way possible.

“He’s a perfect fit for us at South Lenoir. He cares about the kids. He genuinely cares about the student-athlete and their future,” South Lenoir Athletic Director told The Free Press at the time of Grantham’s hiring.

“He’s got a lot to offer our school.”

In reality, both coaches do. And that’s why each school deserves a pat on the back for bringing in the right guys for the job.

Ryan Herman’s column appears in The Free Press on Wednesdays. Reach him at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.